Chapter 8

The next day, I got to Rorke's a little early, about quarter till the hour, and found a slightly sheepish Laura sitting at a table, a barely-touched drink in front of her.

"Guess we're both a bit eager," I told her as I sat down.

She blushed, but just nodded. The waitress (she was new, I didn't recognize her) came over to take my drink order, preventing an awkward silence from forming. Once she'd left, I dusted off my mental list of small talk and started in. Laura was nervous at first, but soon relaxed and started returning fire when I'd toss little wisecracks her way.

By the time we'd ordered our meal, we were chatting easily, and her nervousness was gone. I kept to safe topics, avoiding her child, her past boyfriends, and anything that would (falsely) indicate that I expected to be having sex with her tonight.

For her part, she seemed just slightly guarded, but I attributed that to a painful history she wasn't ready to share. More than once I looked up from my plate to find her looking at me with love in her eyes. I'd always liked her, but this was the first time I'd started to feel something more serious. It was plain to me, though, that she was much farther along the path.

I was concerned that she was in love with her idea of me, and not the real thing, but I decided that my best move was to just stay honest, and not try to move too fast. I was afraid of being hurt again, but much more afraid of hurting her. I had this feeling that she was much further out on a limb than I was, and much more likely to retreat forever if the limb didn't bear her weight.

The meal concluded, and dessert declined, she seemed to tense up again. "Feel up to wandering the streets, checking out the local nightlife?" I asked her.

She nodded, relaxing slightly, and I smiled reassuringly back at her. I paid the check and tipped the waitress, then offered her my hand, and helped her to her feet.

We left Rorke's, and ambled around the local entertainment district, people watching, but not partaking of any of the 'sinful' pleasures offered therein. Before long, my arm was around her back, my hand safely on her waist. By the time we finished, hers was around mine as well, and our hips were bumping from time to time as we walked.

After a couple of hours, we reluctantly parted.

"You OK to get home?" I asked, carefully not pressing.

"I'm fine," she said, "I had a really good time tonight." Then, nervous again, she began "Can we..." before trailing off, and turning her face away.

I touched her chin gently, and pulled her face back towards mine.

"I'd love to. Tomorrow if possible, or whenever you're free."

Her eyes shone as she looked up at me, and I gave in to temptation and leaned in to kiss her. There was no tension, no shock at my approach, just acceptance. Her mouth melted under mine, and the kiss grew passionate, much faster and to a much greater degree than I intended.

When we broke, her eyes were full of tears, and she seemed afraid to speak. I kissed her eyes gently, and said, "I know. I'm not sure, but I think I'm getting there too. I think we've gone as far as it's safe to tonight; but we're far from finished.

"Call me tomorrow, when you can. My phone is set to decline calls when I'm in class, but you can either leave a message, or ping it for my schedule. Even if we can't meet, I want to hear your voice, to know you're OK. Promise?"

Still speechless, she nodded, and turned to leave. Reluctantly, I let her go. I'd seen such pain in her eyes at the end, I wanted to chase after her, to pull the reasons for it out of her, and do whatever it took to cure it. But she wasn't ready, and to force her would destroy her.

I got home to an empty apartment; Naltort and Tarmant must have hoped I'd bring her home, and wanted me to have privacy when I did. I called Tarmant's phone, but it went unanswered. I closed the call with a smile. At least they were keeping busy. I didn't begrudge them their private time; in fact, if Laura was 'the one' and she was at all shy, I wanted them in the habit of being able to pleasure each other without my involvement.

I cleaned the place a bit, putting some things away, and packing others for our upcoming move. I poured myself a small drink as a nightcap, and considered heading for bed. Before I could decide, I heard the front door open and Tarmant and Naltort enter. They were acting a bit frisky, and just a tiny bit drunk. I finished my drink and went to meet them.

When I kissed Tarmant, I tasted something extra that I couldn't identify right away. Kissing Naltort also provided an extra taste, much more familiar, that provided context. Still holding Naltort, I turned to Tarmant and said, "So that's why you didn't answer your phone. You couldn't hear a thing with his thighs pressing on your ears."

I looked at Naltort and teased him as well, "Making sure you did the job, were you?"

He blushed, and shook his head. Tarmant, being a bit bolder said, "No, if it didn't take, it will be a few more days before he makes another egg. Besides, he wasn't playing in a place that can make a baby."

Naltort blushed harder, and buried his face in my shoulder.

"So I'm not the only one that likes to use the back entrance?" I teased him, running my hand down his back towards his own rear passage. He'd touched my dick, and I'd touched his; but other than that, fondling his back hole was as far as we'd gone.

Tarmant took mercy on her mate and changed the subject by quizzing me on the success of my date. I told them the events of the day, omitting some of what I'd guessed about Laura's history and her current feelings. I wasn't certain of either, and I didn't want to taint their own impressions of her.

Tarmant was thrilled that I'd told Laura we'd go out again, and to call, and I had to tell her not to get overexcited.

"And I don't want you going into the bar stirring things up, either," I said firmly. "She'll call, or she won't, but trying to force it will only push her away. She's skittish enough, for whatever reason. If she lets it go more than a few days, then I might send you to ask her if I should start coming back to the bar again. But not until she's had time to decide how she wants to handle how she felt tonight. It's quite possible she's at home right now, scared out of her wits at how she acted. I'm not going to play hard to get, but I'm not going to push it either. I like what I've seen so far, and if nothing changes, she could very easily end up being your lady, but it's got to be her decision."

Tarmant looked just a tiny bit rebellious, but after a moment, she nodded. "As you wish, lord."

We spent the rest of the evening studying, and went to bed happy.

The next morning, I got a call from Laura, apologizing that we couldn't get together, but promising lunch the next day, if it was convenient. I agreed readily, and suffered some teasing from Tarmant when I told her about it.

Classes were going well, and I got a stunningly good grade back on the quiz that had provoked my conversation with the Score Buster. Things were definitely on the mend on that front. Ranmark's reign of terror continued unabated, with continued indifference to the effectiveness of her lectures on the students she was supposed to be educating, but with Tarmant's tutoring I was doing better at keeping up.

I helped Tarmant move more of her things to Naltort's apartment, and helped him rearrange things so we'd be more comfortable once we moved in. I found myself looking at the place in a new light; if Laura and Lisa moved in, we'd be a bit cramped, but we could manage.

I got another call from Laura just before she went on shift. There didn't seem to be a real reason for the call except to hear my voice; I was convinced now that she was desperately in love with me, or maybe just desperate. I was still OK with that, but growing more concerned with what would happen if my feelings changed. I didn't share my concerns with Tarmant or Naltort, just the fact that she'd called.

Naltort encouraged me to take Tarmant to bed that night, just the two of us. I made sure she had plenty of foreplay, and I finger-fucked her vagina before taking her up the ass. My fingers weren't nearly as long as Naltort's ovipositor, but they were long enough to keep her well-stimulated. She came several times before I spent in her and she sighed happily when we cuddled afterwards.

"Do you think it bothers Naltort that I don't do this with him?" I asked her while we rested.

"No, lord, I know it doesn't. I was worried about the same thing, and I asked. His needs are more for your respect and leadership, rather than for physical pleasure. He enjoys it when you join with us when we pleasure each other, and he's proud that you let him help you to pleasure me, but it's optional for him. He doesn't need it the way that I do."

"I think it's important that the two of you have private time as well; I enjoy being with the two of you, but I don't want you to think you can only have pleasure by my permission, or with my help. If I do end up with Laura, she will definitely want time alone with me, and since she's Earth-born she may not be interested in having you present, let alone joining in. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, though."